Tag: Al Stall Jr.

Tiz the Law Completes Classic Preparations at Keeneland

Sackatoga Stables’ GI Belmont S. winner and GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Tiz the Law (Constitution) capped off his serious work ahead of next Saturday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Classic with a five-furlong breeze at Keeneland Saturday morning.

With his regular work rider Heather Smullen in the irons, the New York-bred drilled five furlongs in :59.20 and galloped out an extra eighth of a mile in 1:12.20 (video).

“I saw just what I wanted. He went perfectly,” said trainer Barclay Tagg who will send out his 11th Breeders’ Cup starter next weekend. “We wanted him to go in :59 and he went in :59.20, so it was just right.”

Tiz the Law will be making his first start since dropping a 1 1/4-length decision at the hands of Authentic in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby and was an early arrival at Keeneland Oct. 18. Saturday’s work was his second locally, having breezed three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.20 Oct. 23.

“I thought he needs to get a good feel of this track (because) he has never run over it,” Tagg said of the plan to ship in the colt on the early side. “He has to run against older horses; it is going to be a tough race. “I have a super-duper crew and everything has gone right. We pay attention to the horses. We carry 30 horses at the most and try to get the best out of what we got, and every now and then we get a good one.”

Hronis Racing’s Higher Power (Medaglia d’Oro) has been on the grounds at Keeneland since early October and also tuned up for the Classic Saturday with a strong five-furlong work that was timed in :58.80, with a six-furlong gallop-out in 1:11.60 (video).

“I liked the way he came back from it,” said former jockey Juan Leyva, who serves as assistant to trainer John Sadler and who rode Musical Romance (Concorde’s Tune) to an upset victory in the 2011 GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. “He was blowing a little bit but not out of this world. His level of fitness has really progressed here.”

Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swilcan Stables’ Vequist (Nyquist) arrived into Lexington from Philadelphia this past Monday and geared up for her start in next Friday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies by zipping a half-mile in :47.20 for trainer Butch Reid (video). The 9 1/2-length winner of the GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga Sept. 6, the dark bay was a latest second to the impressive Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief) in the GI Frizette S. at Belmont Oct. 6.

“I think a work over the track is very important and that is why we came when we did,” Reid said. “She had three or four good gallops and the work was fine. She did work at Saratoga [before the Spinaway] but didn’t before the Frizette because Belmont is just up the road from Philadelphia.”

Reid, who won the 2011 GII Breeders’ Cup Marathon with Afleet Again (Afleet Alex), said that Joel Rosario will have the mount Friday.

Monomoy Girl Headlines Busy Morning at CD…

The Saturday morning worktab across Interstate 64 at Churchill was equally busy at it was at Keeneland, with no fewe than 27 Breeders’ Cup pre-entered horses getting in their final serious work.

The two females that will vie for favoritism in Saturday’s GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff were the marquee names on a chilly Louisville morning. Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) was one of a half-dozen workers for trainer Brad Cox, and the 2018 GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff heroine tuned up with a steady five-furlong work that was timed in 1:01 flat. With Florent Geroux up and galloping in the company of GI Dirt Mile hopeful Owendale (Into Mischief), Monomoy Girl went in fractions of :12.80, :24.60, :37 and :48.40 before pulling up six furlongs in 1:14.40 (video).

“She’s a champion mare and really a horse of a lifetime,” said Geroux, winner of four other Breeders’ Cup races in addition to the Distaff. “She’s a future Hall of Famer with her resume. The speed figures show she is a little bit faster this year than her 3-year-old year.”

Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil), last-start winner of the GI Preakness S., breezed five-eighths of a mile in 1:00 flat in :24.60, :36.40 and :48.20 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.20 (video). While trainer Ken McPeek and owner Peter Callahan still have some work to do, Swiss Skydiver is likely to take up her spot against her peers on Breeders’ Cup Saturday.

“At this point we’re going Distaff unless there’s a late defection from the Classic,” McPeek told pool reporters Saturday morning. “We had a chance to look at not only the regular past performances but all the Ragozin numbers and that’s what we’re doing.”

McPeek says Swiss Skydiver has been ticking right along and is pleased with what he saw on the track Saturday morning.

“She busted out 12s,” he said. “[Jockey] Robby [Albarado] really does have her number right now, he’s got her in nice rhythm out there and knows how she feels under him. I think we’re well loaded and we’ve got her right on even keel.”

McPeek, still in search of a maiden Breeders’ Cup victory, also sent out GI Darley Alcibiades S. romper Simply Ravishing (Laoban) to work five-eighths in 1:00 flat. She and Swiss Skydiver worked on their own.

Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike) will enter the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic with just three starts under his belt this season and will be having his first run since a troubled third to Improbable (City Zip) in the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga in early August. The dean of the field at age seven, the G M B Racing runner breezed a very easy four furlongs in :50.40 Saturday morning.

“We really just wanted to go out there and stretch his legs,” said trainer Al Stall, Jr. “It was just get him around there, save a lot of energy and come out of it nice and just be ready for Saturday.”

Bell’s the One (Majesticperfection) may lack the star power, even with her defeat of Serengeti Empress (Alternation) in the GI Derby City Distaff Sept. 5, but the 4-year-old continues to thrive and worked a smooth half-mile in :47 3/5 at Churchill Downs Saturday morning.

“She did just what we wanted, just wanted an easy half and did it very easily and we’re set to go,” trainer Neil Pessin told pool reporter Alicia Wincze Hughes.”

The defection and subsequent retirement of Bellafina (Quality Road) could make life more difficult for Bell’s the One, in Pessin’s estimation.

“I don’t know if anyone is fast enough to go with Serengeti,” he opined. “Bellafina was, she laid right off her. Venetian Harbor (Munnings) and Gamine (Into Mischief) are speed horses, but they’ve never gone faster than :45 in their lives and Serengeti can go :43 3/5. If they go :44 and two or three, that sets it up better for Serengeti than for us. But we’re doing good, my filly is going to run her race and hopefully we can catch them at the end.”

Three of Bob Baffert’s top Breeders’ Cup contenders put in their final breezes ahead of their respective World Championship races at Santa Anita Saturday morning.

GI Kentucky Derby hero Authentic (Into Mischief) covered five panels in :59.60 (7/53) (video) ahead of the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. The ‘TDN Rising Star’ was last seen finishing second to GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff-bound Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) in the GI Preakness S. Oct. 3.

“He was out there doing his thing,” Baffert told the TDN when reached by phone. “He always works alone, him and Improbable. They are both very willing. He bounced out of the Preakness really well and his last two works were pretty strong. He is about as ready as I can have him. I really like the way he is coming into this race.”

Fellow BC Classic contender Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) also breezed five furlongs in Arcadia Saturday, stopping the clock in 1:00.60 (14/53) (video). Winner of the GI TVG Pacific Classic Aug. 22, the bay was second to his stablemate Improbable (City Zip)–who is scheduled to work Sunday–in the GI Awesome Again S. Sept. 26.

“He went well,” Baffert said of Maximum Security. “He is the lazier type [in his breezes], but he gets enough out of his works. He looks great. He will be right there.”

‘TDN Rising Star’ Gamine (Into Mischief) clocked the fastest five-furlong work of the Baffert trio, covering the distance in :59.40 (2/53) (video). An ultra impressive winner of both the GI Longines Acorn S. and GI Longines Test S., the bay was last seen finishing third in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks Sept. 4 and will cut back in trip for the GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Sprint S.

“Gamine looked fantastic,” Baffert said. “She just sat there with another horse and when he asked her to pick it up, she just went boom. She has matured and just looks really good coming into this race. She has been on the lead and she makes the lead because she is brilliant on her own. But, she is not a speed crazy type of horse. I can see she is on top of her game.”

Baffert also offered a comment on GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies contender and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Princess Noor (Not This Time), who breezed five panels in :59.80 (3/43) in Arcadia Friday.

“She worked yesterday. She looks great,” Baffert said. “On paper, her numbers don’t stack up to those other fillies, but she has done everything here in a hand ride. I think she is special. The thing about the Breeders’ Cup is you can brag all you want, but when the gate comes open, the separation begins. That is the beauty of the Breeders’ Cup. That’s why they have it. The good horses, they separate themselves.”

Baffert’s Breeders’ Cup contingent will fly to Keeneland Tuesday for the Nov. 6-7 World Championships.

Another Hall of Famer sent out a BC-bound Saturday morning in Arcadia with GI Breeders’ Cup Turf runner United (Giant’s Causeway) covering six panels in 1:15 (1/2) (video) for Richard Mandella.

Pletcher Pair Take To Belmont Main Track…

Trainer Todd Pletcher was on hand to see the final Breeders’ Cup works for Halladay (War Front) and Valiance (Tapit) Saturday morning on a brisk Long Island morning.

Halladay, unraced since wiring the field in the GI Fourstardave H. at Saratoga Aug. 22, clocked :49.21 (video) for his four-furlong breeze over the main track. It was the third work for Halladay since having to be scratched from the GI Shadwell Mile S. Oct. 3 with a hind-leg infection.

“I was happy we were able to get it in today. The track dried out pretty nicely considering all of the rain we’ve had,” Pletcher said. “Halladay was a touch keen early on. He went off a little quick but then he relaxed, settled quickly, finished up strong and galloped out well. I was happy with that.”

Also working by her lonesome was GI Juddmonte Spinster S. upsetter Valiance, who stopped the clock in :49 flat (video).

“Valiance maintains form really well. Not only was her work good, but she galloped out well. She seems to be doing as well as she can at the moment,” Pletcher said.

Luis Saez has the call on both horses in the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile and GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff, respectively.

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Breeders’ Cup Contenders Light Up Saturday’s Worktab

The worktab at Churchill Downs Saturday morning was replete with many of racing’s biggest names scheduled to make an upcoming start during next month’s Breeders’ Cup, including champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), GI Preakness S. heroine Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) and Grade I-winner Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike).

Targeting the Distaff, the 2018 3-year-old champion filly completed six furlongs in 1:12. Working in tandem with GSW and GISP Owendale (Into Mischief, 6f 1:13), the 5-year-old carved out eighth-mile splits of :12, :24.40, :36.20, :47.80 and 1:00, galloping out in front of her stablemate in 1:26.40 for seven furlongs.

“Anyone you put with Monomoy, she seems to always out work them,” said Florent Geroux, the chestnut’s regular partner. “She’s worked with a lot of really good horses in the past and Owendale is a really good horse. She just always gets the better of them.”

Added trainer Brad Cox, “There’s not much really to say about her other than she’s just really, really, really good right now. We’ll see what the future holds for her, but as a 5-year-old, she’s showing how mature she’s become.”

Cox’s morning started at 5:30 a.m. Arklow (Arch)worked outside of GSW Plainsman (Flatter) through splits of :12.60, :24.80 and :47.80. Plainsman completed five furlongs in :59.80. Arklow, accompanied by Geroux, galloped out six furlongs in 1:11.80. The GI Breeders’ Cup Turf will mark Arklow’s 30th career start, but only the second with the addition of blinkers.

“I wish I would’ve added the blinkers in start 19 instead of 29,” Cox joked. “He’s really turned the corner since we put them on for the [Sept. 12 GIII] Kentucky Turf Cup Classic last out. This year has been interesting with this horse. He ran a good race in June (in the $100,000 Louisville) and we ran him back in the Elkhorn where he didn’t run bad but I had the not-so-great idea of sticking him on a plane and running six days later at Monmouth (in the Grade I, $315,000 United Nations). After he finished fourth that day, I said we have to make a change and add blinkers. It really worked out in the Kentucky Turf Cup, which in and of itself turned out to be a really interesting race when there was a torrential downpour before the running of the race.”

Also in the first set of Cox horses was GI First Lady S. runner-up Beau Recall (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}), who appears likely to face the males in the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile. She worked by herself through fractions of :13.20 and :25.60, galloping out five furlongs in 1:03.80.

Among the leaders of this season’s crop of sophomore fillies, the Oct. 3 Classic winning Swiss Skydiver continued her march toward Breeders’ Cup day with a four-furlong move in :47.80. With Robby Albarado in the saddle, the Ken McPeek-trained filly breezed through initial fractions of :12.40 and :24.40.

“She was pulling today and feeling really good with the cool weather,” said Albarado. “No complaints, she feels amazing…I’m going to gallop her the last five days before the race as I did at Pimlico. We’re going to see how she’s doing and make a decision [about the Classic or Distaff] from there.”

McPeek also worked Juvenile Fillies probables Simply Ravishing and Crazy Beautiful. The one-two finishers, respectively, in the GI Alcibiades S. worked separately, posting internal fractions of :12.20 and :24.20, and capping off the move in :48 flat.

Tom’s d’Etat, who has been off since a troubled third in the Aug. 1 GI Whitney S. in early August, posted a solid six-furlong move under jockey Miguel Mena in preparation for the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. Breezing in tandem with Oak Hill (Distorted Humor), last year’s GI Clark winner worked six panels in 1:12.80, with internal splits of :12.20, :23.80, :47.20 and 1:00. Oak Hill completed five furlongs in 1:01.

“The schedule with the pandemic got a little awkward with everyone,” trainer Al Stall Jr. said. “The races didn’t quite work out in the calendar quite right for him. My gut feeling said to go into the Classic fresh anyway and when the last round of stakes races came out, I didn’t like the way they were placed so we stuck with the plan to train up to the race.”

The fastest recorded five-furlong dirt breeze of the morning was registered by Classic contender By My Standards (Goldencents), who completed the task in a crisp :58.60. Rolling through initial fractions of :12, :23.40 and :34.80 with jockey Gabriel Saez aboard, the winner of the Sept. 4 GII Alysheba S. galloped out six furlongs in 1:11 and rounding out seven panels in 1:24.80.

“Last week was the first work we did a little bit something serious with him [since he won the Alysheba],” said trainer Bret Calhoun. “He was full of energy and bounced around great after it. It’s been a different year for sure losing a few races here or there. We were fortunate to have [the Alysheba] on the undercard of the rescheduled Derby. We probably could’ve shipped somewhere around the country, but our goal was how to get him to the Breeders’ Cup Classic. We decided to stay here run in the Alysheba and point to the Breeders’ Cup from there.

Also making an appearance on Saturday’s worktab at Churchill, recent GI Woodward H. winner Global Campaign (4f, :48; Classic), GII Dinner Party S. scorer Factor This (The Factor) (5f, 1:02; Mile), 2018 GI Breeders’ Futurity winner Knicks Go (Paynter) (5f, 1:00.20; Dirt Mile), GSW Sally’s Curlin (Curlin) (4f, 1:01.40; Filly & Mare Sprint), and Spanish Loveaffair (Karakontie {Jpn}) (5f, 1:04.20; Juvenile Fillies Turf).

At Keeneland in Lexington Saturday morning, a trio of hopefuls also continued preparations for the Breeders’ Cup. Chief among them was Jesus’ Team (Tapiture), who breezed five panels over a muddy track in 1:00.80 in advance of the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Grade I winner Ollie’s Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}), who is slated to contest the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

“It was a good work and he will come back again next Saturday [Oct. 31] and work a half-mile,” said trainer Jose D’Angelo. “I have only been in this country a year. I have not been here to race, but I have been to the sales.”

Third in the Preakness, the former claimer also finished third in the GII Jim Dandy S. Sept. 5.

Ollie’s Candy, runner-up in her latest start in the Oct. 4 GI Juddmonte Spinster S., will try to improve on a fourth in last season’s Distaff. The first worker over the freshly harrowed track at 7:30 a.m., the John Sadler-trainee posted a bullet five furlongs in :59 over a muddy track. The 5-year-old reeled off internal splits of :23, :47.40, galloping out six furlongs in 1:12.60. Juan Levya, assistant to Sadler, was aboard.

“She got over the track really well and galloped out well,” Leyva said.

Ollie’s Candy has been cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect (Book 1, Hip 83) in Keeneland’s November Breeding Stock Sale. The sale begins Nov. 9.

Following Keeneland’s second morning renovation break Saturday, Bellafina (Quality Road), who is expected to make her next start in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, worked five furlongs on her own in 1:00.60 with Nick Bush aboard.

Second in the Filly and Mare Sprint to champion Covfefe (Into Mischief) last year, Bellafina posted fractions of :11.40, :23, :35.40, 1:00.60 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:14.20.

 

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Another First-Time Starter Winner for American Pharoah

10th-Saratoga, $72,000, Msw, 7-29, 3yo/up, f/m, 5 1/2fT, 1:02.63, fm.
ZERO TO SIXTY (f, 3, American Pharoah–Cat Moves {GISW, $315,350}, by Tale of the Cat) eased out to 7-1 after being as low as 5-1 and kicked it in an eighth of a mile from home to graduate in sparkling fashion in the Wednesday finale from Saratoga. Drawn widest in the field of nine, the $320,000 Keeneland September was beaten for speed and raced in the latter half of the field for the opening furlong before advancing outside into midpack nearing the entrance to the turn. Held together for a four-wide sweep on the bend, she came out in upper stretch and found that extra gear for the final furlong, besting Let The Eat Cake (Animal Kingdom) by 1 1/2 lengths. Zero To Sixty’s dam broke her maiden by 8 1/4 lengths at first asking for Tony Dutrow and the late Ned Evans and added a 3/4-length victory in the GI Prioress S. two starts later ahead of a third in this track’s GI Test S. in 2009. Zero To Sixty carries inbreeding to Storm Cat, which can also be found in three of American Pharoah’s nine stakes winners to date (Sweet Melania, Ocean Atlantique and Danon Pharaoh). Cat Moves, who fetched $2.4 million in foal to Malibu Moon at KEENOV in 2011, was knocked down for $400,000 carrying to Candy Ride (Arg) at the same auction in 2017. The resulting foal, a colt, has since been exported to Saudi Arabia, while Cat Moves produced a filly by Widden Stud’s Zoustar (Aus) (Northern Meteor {Aus}) following her export to Australia. She was barren to Justify for 2020. This is also the extended female family of GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf hero Hootenanny (Quality Road). Sales history: $100,000 RNA Wlg ’17 KEENOV; $320,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $39,600. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
O-Columbine Stable LLC; B-Adena Springs (KY); T-Albert M Stall Jr.

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This Side Up: Whitmore Seeks Fresh Honors For Class of 2013

The seven-year itch, in the current racing herd, represents the best kind of mid-life crisis: reinventing yourself as a champion.

An Eclipse Award would certainly be a credible aspiration for Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) should he derail the Volatile (Violence) express in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga Saturday. Next weekend, another flourishing 7-year-old, Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike), will seek to consolidate his ascent to the top of his own division in the GI Whitney S. Over the past two weeks, meanwhile, their contemporaries Zulu Alpha (Street Cry {Ire}) and Aquaphobia (Giant’s Causeway) have won the GII Elkhorn S. and the GI United Nations S., respectively.

All four, remember, belong to the same 2013 crop as Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and the lamented Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song). Whitmore, with his feasible pedigree, actually rolled the dice in the GI Kentucky Derby won by Nyquist (Uncle Mo). All praise, then, to the patient horsemanship of their connections, in coaxing off a chrysalis that many others might long ago have mistaken as confining, not the wings of a butterfly, but simply a limited talent.

Mike Maker, Ron Moquett and Al Stall Jr. would have the breed’s lasting gratitude if their endeavors help us think afresh about the proper span of a Thoroughbred’s development. A decade ago, researchers analysed 274 American racehorses and concluded that the typical age for peak performance was 4.45 years. Moreover they found that the rate of improvement to that point exceeded the rate of decline thereafter.

The fact is that even the Classic racehorse remains an adolescent. And we have ample evidence, whenever we are prepared to seek it, of the continued progress available through maturity. Without the same commercial prospects at stud, turf horses are often permitted to keep strengthening for years after their dirt cousins. The ultimate evergreen was John Henry, as a 9-year-old Horse of the Year; and, since the turn of the century, the only division to award championships to horses as old as seven is the one that features Miesque’s Approval (With Approval), Big Blue Kitten (Kitten’s Joy) and Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}).

A healthy breeding industry should surely prefer the foundations laid after the manner of Whitmore–a gelding, unfortunately, but averaging $92,540 for the 34 occasions he has left the gate–instead of pretending that every colt that can add a narrow success in one of the Derby trials to a juvenile Grade III is going to end up like Tapit.

Albeit Tom’s d’Etat was held up by one or two issues earlier in his career, as a rule perseverance is about proving soundness as well as class. Some farms, no doubt, would worry about starting a stallion at eight. Well, they might have a point if only they didn’t banish so many horses of that kind of age to Oklahoma or Turkey. If they’re only going to get a narrow window to establish themselves, then what’s the rush? Why not let them build up a resume that genuinely substantiates the kind of genetic assets a breeder should be looking to replicate?

Hats off to WinStar, then, for landing Tom’s d’Etat for their roster. As Elliott Walden remarked, they welcomed Speightstown at seven and Distorted Humor at six. And there won’t be many sires starting out next spring who can match his pedigree: his graded stakes-placed dam is by Giant’s Causeway out of a full-sister to none other than Candy Ride (Arg). And the way he is thriving promises that he can contribute to the legacy of their sire in much the same way as Curlin, Lookin At Lucky and English Channel, all notable for stock that progresses with maturity.

As for Whitmore, his ineligibility for a stud career at least means that fans can continue to enjoy his terrific speed and character. In the process, his trainer is maximizing what remains too rare an opportunity for those barns, across the nation, where skill, industry and honesty are somehow inadequate to tempt enough patrons from either the super-trainers or the pharmacists.

Never mind the small field, this is a wonderfully poised showdown with a much less seasoned but terribly charismatic rival in Volatile. Not that Firenze Fire (Poseidon’s Warrior) can be taken lightly. The way he bounced back for his new barn last time, incidentally, is an encouraging template for the most celebrated refugee from the care of their former trainer. But it’s hard to know where to start with Maximum Security (New Year’s Day), the day he makes his debut for Bob Baffert at Del Mar. So we won’t.

Returning to Whitmore, at least we know he’s at home on the track. Though last seen sealing his status as an Oaklawn legend, his only previous start at Saratoga brought his only Grade I success to date–at the expense of the wonderful City Of Light (Quality Road)–in the Forego two years ago. Forego! At seven, he won the GI Woodward for a fourth year running; and, though finally surrendering his Horse of the Year trophy to Seattle Slew, was named champion older male for the fourth time running. He was another gelding, of course, but the fact is that his sheer bulk warranted plenty of time.

“Prematurity” means exactly what it says. Among our brethren in the steeplechasing world, the foals of 2013 are still viewed as relative youngsters. Yet in Europe a number of precocious juveniles have in recent years been retired, completely sound, to cut to the chase at stud. What is flattered, over there, as “commercial speed and precocity” is storing up a terrible harvest for that particular gene pool. In contrast, as I’m always trying to tell them, North American breeders generally want a chance of carrying speed through a second turn.

One of the things that should aid that process is maturity, both physical and mental. So, however Whitmore fares against the prodigy in this one-turn spectacular, let’s celebrate the whole class of 2013. Let’s remind ourselves that there is no inherent virtue in always trying to get ahead of time.

Remember the psychiatrist in The Seven-Year Itch? “My three o’clock patient jumped out of the window in the middle of his session,” he said. “I have been running 15 minutes ahead of schedule ever since.”

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